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Thank you for your interest in contributing to our conversation about Privileged Logics.

We welcome pieces that explore themes such as:

Descriptions of activities you have tried at your organization to improve research access and quality
Innovations in ethical research practices and the role of privilege in shaping institutional research norms
Insights on building and facilitating learning communities to lead institutional challenges
Discussions on current limitations of research metrics and proposals for more inclusive and quality-driven alternatives to evaluate research
Practical applications or personal experiences of supporting positive research cultures
Ideas for RCR training that foregrounds privilege as a factor impacting research quality
And other topics relevant to this discussion

Submissions should be properly referenced and provide relevant background material so readers can assess the cogency and structure of arguments.

We are open to a variety of contributions, such as research-based essays, working papers, reflective pieces, commentary on current events, in a variety of formats, including videos and presentations.

If you are interested in contributing, please send an email to ethicscenter@wmich.edu to discuss more about our editorial process or your ideas for new material.

Privileged Logics 2024 Conference: Highlights from a Research Ethics Workshop

At the Privileged Logics 2024 Conference, various participants shared what was being done at their institutions regarding research ethics. Training ranged from nothing and bare minimum CITI modules focused on compliance for those with federally funded grants, to monthly town halls and resources provided across campus. Some included weekly face-to-face trainings to supplement CITI required courses for all researchers, whether or not they are federally funded. The most comprehensive program resulted from disciplinary action by a federal granting agency. Examples of research ethics topics most directly related to privilege included sexual harassment and Indigenous student mentoring. But there was wide agreement that the orientation to understanding and addressing privilege was largely absent from most institutional training. A narrow focus on research integrity ignores the social benefits of research and equity and generally leads to rather superficial topics and a focus on com...

The Impact of Learning Communities on Equitable and Quality-Driven Research Cultures

Learning communities can be built around both institutional and inter-institutional goals and target populations. Within institutions, current voices can be supplemented by purposive expansions through cohort hires and other strategies to foster inclusive, and usually, interdisciplinary conversations. In addition to multiple disciplines, multiple institutional roles are often usefully present in the learning communities that effect institutional change. The dialogue across, rather than among, supposed interests also encourages plain speaking and a focus on “facts” of the situation. Strategies for avoiding the reproduction of inequities in learning communities include: intentionally bring in a variety of experiences and views; make sure there’s a seat for everyone, open dialogue, identify and address barriers to participation (e.g., provide financial or in-kind compensation like time off work or course release time). Possibilities for impacting change include: creating new policies and ...

How Current Scientific Cultures and Metrics Reproduce Privilege

At the Privileged Logics 2024 conference, there was broad agreement that metrics currently used are unfair and reproduce privilege. Reasons include adherence to a competitive scientific culture, perceptions that these metrics are objective, their usefulness in appealing to outsiders for engagement and recruitment, and inertia and/or mistaken notions of rigor from those who have been at the institution for a long time and don’t want to change the way things are done. Examples of metrics that have affected outcomes for individuals due to privilege included: The demand for novelty and transformation (although there can also be an anti-innovation bias denying merit to delivery modes such as podcasts as well as to core expanding substantive areas and a focus on community impact) over replication and incremental gains Statistical significance as a measure for worthwhile research Tenure as a status attached to financial stability Grades as measures of learning and achievement Differential tre...

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